Timely beer snobbery
I’ve never been among the rabid fans of Guinness.
It’s a decent beer, and I do like it, but I feel that it’s a bedfellow with the band Tool in the ‘Good But Not As Great As People Make It Out To Be’ category. It’s a solid stout, to be sure, and I’d drink it over any non-craft brewed domestic beer any day, but… I’ve recently been going through a case of Bass: I’m enjoying it quite a lot, as I’ve been in the mood for a pale ale/bitter for a while now, but I wouldn’t go around buying t shirts, hats, posters and so on with a giant red triangle on it.
Side note: The Bass logo is brilliant. Forget an abstract crown or a harp; they use something any four year old can draw.
So on the one hand I feel as though I should be chastising all the frat boys who get to act like they know something about beer because it’s like drinking a meal, bro. On the other, at least they’re drinking something approaching good beer. So I suppose the issue boils down to this: does liking something because it’s cool detract from its quality? If I hand someone a porter and their response is ‘It’s sort of like Guinness,’ would it be overly snobby to think less of them for having such a mainstream baseline?
(I suppose my answer in either case could be, ‘Well yeah, but this is probably brewed with chocolate malt as opposed to roasted barley, which is totally different!’)
This train of thought was brought up a few times in the past few days: the first was when I saw a sign for Beamish, another Irish Stout, at the Sterling Place Tavern on Hertel and Sterling (if you’re ever in Buffalo on a Friday, you have to try their fish fry, and take the excellent beer selection as a bonus). I’ve been meaning to try Beamish to see how it compares to Guinness and I suppose tonight would be a good time to try it (assuming Wegmans carries it).
The other is when tiny sent me a Fyreball to a blog that tries to figure out why people claim Guinness is better in Ireland. There are a few interesting points, but they also get a few things wrong and of course I’m full enough of myself to post a lengthy comment detailing what and why.
Finally, St. Patrick’s Day is #89 on the list of Stuff White People Like. The post is the usual mix of legitimate satire and things I’m willing to overlook for the sake of humor. On saying that Guinness tastes better in Ireland:
This comment will elicit an immediate and powerful response of people agreeing with your valuable insight. This statement also has the additional benefit of humiliating the members of your party who have not been to Ireland (and thus cannot confirm this proclamation). Having not traveled to Ireland and consumed a beer that is widely available in their hometown and throughout the world, they will immediately be perceived as provincial, uncultured, and inferior to you.